Why Analytics should be a priority for the Health and Social Care Sector

Why Analytics should be a priority for the Health and Social Care Sector

Friday 16 May 2014

It’s widely known that ‘Big Data’ is changing healthcare as a whole and analytics can now be used to predict outbreaks of disease, or identify people at risk of certain illnesses, but here at Connexica we are currently focusing on how individual healthcare organisations can make use of analytic solutions for their own data which does not necessarily fall into the category of ‘Big Data’ but is just as important.

Traditionally Business Intelligence or Analytics solutions have not been a major priority for smaller health or social care organisations, yet these organisations often have large amounts of data that need in-depth analysis and reporting.

A recent study discovered that 95% of healthcare CEO’s asked were looking at exploring better ways to harness and manage Big Data; however we are of the opinion that it’s not necessarily the amount of data that’s important but how you deal with it in order to gain the most insight.

Our search powered business analytics solution CXAIR has recently been implemented in an independent non-profit organisation CIC offering publicly funded health and social care services. CXAIR has aided the organisation in various ways, including reporting on bed occupancy, which allows users to identify any patterns or issues and reduce the likelihood of bed shortages due to detailed analysis.

Another area where CXAIR has made a difference is with the admissions and discharges data, now the organisation has a much clearer understanding of this data which makes a big difference when predicting future patient numbers and on average how long patients are requiring care for.

By acquiring knowledge and insight through this type of data, those in the health and social care sector will not only be able to improve patient experience in ways such as reducing waiting times, ensuring there are enough beds etc. but also in terms of cost savings.

One of the most significant cost savings can be measured in terms of time. The time saved when using CXAIR is often due to the fact that users who require data no longer have to wait on specialist technically skilled individuals to produce reports as the software is designed with the business user in mind. CXAIR can bring data together from various disparate systems meaning users are only required to use a single solution for data analysis therefore saving time on training and maintenance.

Of course all business sectors look at ways in which they can save money and cut costs but potentially none more so than the health and care sector. With the challenges of maintaining patient care ever present, implementing an analytics solution should be at the top of every health and social care organisations to do list!